In chapter 10 Richardson sums up how the internet is and will be affecting our lives on a personal and professional level. He assumes that college graduates will be expected to interact with other people around the globe in their chosen profession. I think that he overestimates how widespread this global interaction will be. I can think of many careers that will not take this route. At the same time he seems to scoff at how students of today are expected to work independently, instead of collaboratively, as if this could be considered a criminal offense. I object to this notion. Independent work has a valid place in the education process. In its absence, students would not be able to develop many essential skills - skills that must be fine tuned before collaboration is entered upon. And I maintain that collaboration already exists, even if it is not global.
In his list of "big shifts" Richardson continues to put down other sound educational practices, such as lecturing and memorizing. He seems to see no need for personally acquiring knowledge, because information is just a click away. To my mind, he seems to be advocating that we abandon practices that have been demonstrated to be tried and true - practices that have carried us from one century to the next - for centuries! Is our information revolution really more colossal than the industrial revolution was in its time? I don't think so. I think a complete restructuring of education, based on Richardson's vision, would prove to be disastrous for our students and our society.
In the epilogue, a picture is painted of a teacher who appears to have completely embraced Richardson's view for education. As a result, the teacher's professional life seems to be one of simplicity and bliss. I have a lot of trouble believing this would be the case.
No comments:
Post a Comment